Why 2022 Was Amazingly Challenging Yet Satisfying. Alhamdulillah.

Why 2022 Was Amazingly Challenging Yet Satisfying. Alhamdulillah.

I started 2022 with a new business venture and totally new startup where I didn't know how to do and what to do.

To be honest the decision to do Durioo+ was possibly one of the scariest and toughest decisions I've ever made in my life.

I would love to recap our 2022 journey, milestones and achievements.

January.

Alhamdulillah, we got into Y Combinator. The journey started on the 8th of January. I remember renting an Airbnb and starting the three months journey. My Y Combinator classes started at 1:00 a.m. and it was a very tough time but totally worth it. At the same time, the team was grinding and working hard to create content for Durioo+.

February.

Somehow we launched Durioo+ 13 months earlier than we planned. This was because Y Combinator advised us to launch early, get users, learn from them and grow along the way. Sleepless nights working together with the team paid off. We launched on the 18th of February.

March.

This was the month of the Y combinator Demo Day. Pitching in front of more than 1,000 investors was nerve-wracking never done before but it was very satisfying. Alhamdulillah. This month, we were blessed that we got The Little Caliphs preschool on board to Durioo+.

April.

Investor meetings! In total, I did 100 investor meetings in 30 days. My days and nights were kind of upside down. 99% of my meetings were online and at 12 midnight to 6:00 a.m.. It was an experience that I will never ever forget. The meetings, the rejections, the feedback and the acceptance from investors all over the world - Silicon Valley, US, UK, UAE, Australia, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and many more. We got very good investors onboard. Alhamdulillah.

May to July.

The first 4 months of the year were a totally new experience for me and after that, I took some time off. Post Y Combinator. We were really finding ways to build a great product, produce/license great content and also acquiring users. The growth wasn't as expected. We had to consistently believe in ourselves that we were building a product that people want and we need to find ways to acquire users.

August.

Me and my co-founder (my wife) went to Istanbul for 2 weeks to join the Global Muslim Workation. It was indeed an experience seeing the culture in Istanbul, seeing the culture and feedback from Muslims all around the world during the workation, and an eye opener on how to move forward. We made new friends, got great feedback and advice during the 2 weeks.

September.

This was the month of growth for us. We worked with marketing partners and a group of Super Affiliates. Alhamdulillah, it was a catalyst for our growth and thousands of subscribers subscribed. We then launched our Affiliate program which is also proving to be very successful today.

October.

I flew to Cannes, France. To join MIP Jr and MIPCOM. To be honest, I had very low expectations for this market. We were just a small fry, a new streaming platform, targeting a niched target audience, with a limited budget. But I was amazed that we met great people there, great people who are willing to take a try and believed in our journey. I ended the 6 days with 76 meetings. And the best part of all, to date -we have signed more than 2,000 pieces of content from those meetings.

November.

Things were looking much better now with good growth and growing content on our platform. We targeted 15,000 subscribers by the end of the year, and we hit that milestone in November! Alhamdulillah. Great... Great... Great job from the team.

We also participated in Kre8tif Conference by MDEC and was one of the Platinum Sponsors alongside Warner Bros Discovery, Anima and Unreal Engine.

December.

Our Head of Business headed to Halal Expo London on a mission to bring Durioo+ to families in the UK. Another team member and I went to ATF Singapore - again the acquire more content. Alhamdulillah, both trips were very successful.

31st December 2022.

Alhamdulillah. When we started the year we were clueless. We didn't know what was ahead of us. We didn't know if you could launch. We didn't know if people would like to use our product.

Here I am writing this, still not believing what has happened this year.

Thank you Allah, thank you Mami, thank you wife, kids and family. Thank you to my founding team (K5), Khalifahs and the Durioos. Thank you to our investors and partners. Thank you to our Super Affiliates and Affiliates. Thank you to our mentors, friends and industry partners. Thank you to the parents and kids that subscribe and support us. And thank you to anyone whom I missed. All of you are the reason why Durioo+ and myself are where we are now.

It's been an amazing year. Ups and downs. Challenges. Sleepless nights. Overseas travels. Leaving the kids and family. Wins. Subscribers. Good feedback. Great moments with the team. And most importantly a great foundation for us to head into 2023... InshaAllah.

Thank you 2022. Assalamualaikum 2023. Bismillah.